The
saloks of Sheikh Farid
Ji guide the seeker towards life’s true purpose, the devotion to the one absolute Divine, IkOankar. In these saloks, he reminds us that our time in this world is finite; therefore, one must turn to IkOankar without delay. Yet, attachment to transient possessions and relationships causes many to forget this truth, becoming entangled in vices that lead to restlessness and inner turmoil. In contrast, those who cultivate virtues such as love, humility, patience, contentment, selfless service, and righteousness experience the bliss of connection with IkOankar even while living a householder’s life. Their life becomes serene and suffused with inner joy.
pharīdā pāṛi paṭolā dhaj karī kambalṛī pahireu.
jin̖ī vesī sahu milai seī ves kareu.103.
-Guru Granth Sahib 1383
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
In the one hundred and third stanza, Sheikh Farid says Having torn the silk garment, may I shred it and put on a blanket. The garbs through which the Owner is met, may I put on that attire alone. Sheikh Farid is a Sufi, and Sufis are known for their simplicity in all things. The word Sufi comes from the word suf, which refers to the rough wool of which the garments traditionally worn by Sufis are composed. They do not wear finer and more comfortable fabrics like silk out of a dedication to simplicity and austerity. To be a mendicant is not about a kind of physical poverty for the sake of physical poverty, but about a poverty where one’s spiritual needs become more important than one’s physical needs. We understand the fixation on clothing and material in our own lives—when we wear nice things we feel good, but we also might not do certain things while wearing those clothes. We might not wash dishes or clean or do things that might soil or stain our garments. Wearing something like silk requires the constant thought of what one ought to avoid while wearing such a nice material. When we wear our more common and comfortable clothing, we do not worry about these things—we do whatever is needed in a moment without thinking about what we are wearing.
In this context, Sheikh Farid reflects on his own clothing, and says that he does not want to wear something that distracts him from meeting IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), and so he hopes to tear up his silk and replace it with a blanket, and goes a step further—whatever garbs bring him to the Owner, let him wear those clothes. Will we, too, reflect on our relationship to our outward garbs and appearances in relation to our connection with IkOankar? Will we ‘tear up our silks,’ such that we are not distracted by or fixated on the external in place of the internal?
